The Lahore High Court has declared the appointment of Lieutenant General Muhammad Munir Afsar as Chairman of the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) illegal and ordered his removal from the position.

The court granted a petition filed by citizen Ashba Kamran, who challenged the appointment of Lieutenant General Afsar as NADRA Chairman.

The petitioner argued that the caretaker government, by amending the NADRA Act to allow the appointment of a serving army officer, had overstepped its authority and interfered in permanent policy matters. He requested the court to declare the amended NADRA rules invalid and to nullify the appointment of a serving military officer as NADRA Chairman.

Justice Asim Hafeez of the Lahore High Court delivered the verdict on the petition. The court ruled that the appointment of Lieutenant General Afsar as NADRA Chairman was illegal and ordered his removal from the position.

It is worth noting that the caretaker federal government appointed Lieutenant General Afsar, who was then serving as IG Communication and IT at the General Headquarters (GHQ), as the interim Chairman of NADRA on October 2, 2023.

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Following a cabinet meeting chaired by caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar, a statement was issued on the social media platform X, stating that the federal cabinet had approved the appointment of Lieutenant General Afsar as NADRA Chairman, selecting him from a list of three proposed candidates submitted by the Ministry of Interior.

The statement further mentioned that the selection committee had shortlisted three candidates for the position of NADRA Chairman and that the cabinet, after careful consideration, approved the appointment of Lieutenant General Afsar as the new NADRA Chairman.

Later, on March 29, 2024, the newly elected federal government, following the general elections held on February 8, 2024, approved the appointment of Lieutenant General Afsar as NADRA Chairman for a term of three years through a circulation of the Ministry of Interior’s summary.

The federal government had approved the inclusion of Rule 7A in the NADRA Rules 2020, which allows the appointment of any serving officer as NADRA Chairman in the national interest, provided that the serving officer’s rank is not below Grade 21.